Home
by Liphuggers
Summary: Life seems to get in the way of life, but a trip down memory lane and a dose of reality can put everything back into perspective.


A/N: I do not own Shane, Oliver or Norman. They are property of Martha Williamson, Hallmark and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.

Enjoy!

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Shane seemed fixated on one object as she stared out the kitchen window and washed the same cup over and over again. Oliver came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. The corners of her mouth turned up and she tilted her head as he kissed her neck.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispered in her ear.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

He chuckled lightly in her ear. "I've been standing in the doorway watching you. You've washed Faith's sippy cup seven times." He kissed her temple. Shane sighed lightly. She looked out the window again. Oliver watched her face; he could tell she was struggling with something. "Shane…" He turned her around, where he saw the hurt in her eyes.

"We promised when Grace was born that we'd take more time for our family. We did for a while but," she sighed, "I don't know what happened, Oliver. Suddenly I'm putting my two weeks in and you're working harder than when I first met you." She studied his face as her words slowly settled in his mind. She turned around and started to wash the dishes again. "There's a plate of dinner in the oven for you."

As Oliver went to speak, cries from their two year old could be heard over the baby monitor.

"I'll get her."

"No, I'll get her. You should eat your dinner. You might have to heat it up again." She dried her hands and turned to him. "I'm not upset, Oliver, just hurt, for the girls." She got up on her tip toes, kissed his cheek and headed towards the stairs.

Oliver sighed. He turned towards the kitchen window. His eyes focused on the dark backyard. He saw what she was staring at, the playground and tree house. Memories suddenly flooded his head, drawing designs of what it would look like, building it, board by board, nail by nail. He remembered one summer day; he was sweating and stopped to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He saw his beautiful pregnant wife with their frolicking almost two year old coming towards him with boxes of cool Yoo-Hoo. He thought of the echoing little girl giggles and happy shrieks after he had finished the playground. As he chased his eldest daughter to the slide, he remembered seeing Shane, sitting on the picnic table bench under the big tree, holding their three month old daughter, waving to both of them. He remembered that day he wanted to build a tree house, or castle, for his little princesses. He thought of the day that he was putting the finishing touches on the tree castle, looked over to see Grace, their now three and a half year old, with her play tool box hammering in the nails he had already hammered in, because she wanted to help and be with her daddy.

A pang of regret hit Oliver hard and was brought out of his trip down memory lane by hearing Shane, over the monitor, comforting their youngest. He took the plate of food out from the oven and sat down to eat while listening.

" _Book now Mommy? Please?"_

" _Okay baby, last one of the night, then its sleepy time. Hmm, which book, ahh."_

Oliver finished eating while listening to Shane read 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit'. He washed his plate and checked his pocket watch, it was almost ten o'clock. He went up stairs, changed out of his usual three piece suit and into more comfortable clothes. He went down the hallway to the opened door to see Shane in the rocking chair with their youngest in her lap. He smiled and turned around to the other door that was closed over.

Oliver opened the door. He peeked in to see his four year old sleeping. He had disappointed her again; their nightly hug was missed for yet another night. He went in, tucked her in and kissed her forehead. As he walked back out into the hallway and started to close the door, he heard the faint whisper of her voice.

"Daddy?" Hearing her voice always melted his heart. He still couldn't believe the two beautiful little girls Shane had given him, and the way they said his favorite word in all of the English language. "Daddy?" She sleepily called again.

"Button, you are supposed to be sleeping." He moved through the door and sat on the edge of her bed.

The sleepy little girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Daddy, I couldn't sleep tonight without my daddy bedtime hug." She lunged forward and wrapped her little arms around his neck. He smiled and hugged her.

"Daddy, I missed you today."

"I missed you too. What did you do today?"

She took a deep breath. "We went to Grandpa's house to drop Faithy off so me and Mommy could go see a movie. We had popcorn and candy and soda! I loved it Daddy."

"Wow Grace, that sounds like a fun and special day."

"Daddy, can I tell you something?"

"Sure." He smiled as he hugged her still. He always loved their little talks.

"I liked having Mommy all to myself. I didn't want it to end. But we got back to Grandpa's and Faithy came and hugged me, I missed being the big sister."

Oliver squeezed her a little tighter. He didn't know how they were so blessed with two kind-hearted, loving children. Hearing what she said made his heart jump and fill with joy. He looked up and quickly said a 'thank you' to God.

Grace stopped hugging him and sat back in bed. She looked confused.

"What's the matter Button?"

"Why weren't you with us? Was it 'cause you were at the office?"

That sentence hit Oliver with regret. "Yes. Daddy has to work."

Her face twisted and she looked so much like Shane. "You always have to work. Grandpa says you don't need to work, you do it to help people."

"Isn't helping people important?" Grace shrugged and nodded. "Get some rest Button."

"Okay Daddy." She yawned. "I love you."

"I love you too, Gracie." Oliver kissed her and tucked her in again. He closed the door over, leaving it opened just a little incase she needed to get out.

He turned around and walked across the hall to Faith's bedroom. He heard Shane humming. He remembered the first time he heard her hum; she had just given birth to Grace. It was their first time alone as a family, without doctors or nurses around. He watched as Shane's maternal instincts kicked in, she started to rock and hum. Oliver swore he had never seen or heard anything quite so beautiful, until Faith was born. He thought about that day, holding Grace's hand as she pulled him down the hospital hallway to see her new baby sister. They bought flowers and a teddy bear and Grace was beaming, telling all the nurses, "I'm a big sister". When they arrived at the room, Grace was nervous as both Oliver and Shane had told her before that Faith was a baby and she was very fragile. Shane waved her over and leaned over to kiss her. Oliver picked her up and put her on the bed next to Shane. Grace stared at the baby and then gave her brightest smile to both parents. Shane smiled and wrapped her other arm around Grace and lightly started to rock and hum, Grace followed. That, Oliver remembered, was his favorite sight and sound.

Shane came out of the bedroom and closed the door to mimic the one across the hall. She gave Oliver a small smile and headed towards the stairs. He grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs and into the living room. He spun her around, held her close to him and started swaying.

"Okay." He growled in her ear.

"Okay what?" She slightly laughed as she searched his eyes for the answer.

Oliver took a deep breath and stopped swaying as his eyes danced upon hers. "Okay, I will…" he sighed, "relinquish more of my hours to the newer members of the dead letter team. It is about time Norman and I instill our wisdom into the next generation of postal detectives." He smiled at her.

Not too surprised, Shane asked with a big smile, "Wow, Gracie got to you, didn't she?"

Oliver chortled. "Not just her. You and Faith too. Watching you tonight just reminded me, they are only this young for such a short period of time."

Shane leaned up to kiss him. "Oliver O'Toole, I know how much you love being a member of the United States Postal Service, you'd miss it too much."

"I miss my- our family." He sighed. "I miss making pancakes and reading to the girls and playing in the backyard. Some letters need more attention, especially when they involve children the girls' age. Just because I'm passionate about my job, shouldn't deter me from coming home to my family, hugging them and being the father- the husband that I am needed to be."

Shane touched his cheek and smiled. "I know how much all of this means to you, and the girls and I will support you in either decision you make. You're right, they are little for a blink of an eye, and I don't want you to miss them growing up. Before you know it we'll be driving Faith to college and shortly after that moving Gracie into her own apartment, helping her to find a job. You and I will be a couple of old empty nesters."

They both laughed. "Please don't rush our kids growing up. I want more memories and I want them to have good childhood memories. I want to go through the rotten teenage years and college acceptance letters and driving to see them for parents weekend. I want to be an empty nester, grow old and gray with you. Home is where I want to be."

Shane smiled. "Maybe not too gray?" She laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Welcome home, Mr. O'Toole."


End file.
